Hilltopper Men Rise to No. 9 in Coaches' Poll
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – The West Liberty University men’s basketball team continued to climb the Top 25 ladder on Tuesday when the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) released its fourth NCAA Division II weekly poll of the 2021-22 regular season.
A convincing 89-78 victory against Charleston, a 2021 NCAA Division II regional semifinalist which was also receiving Top 25 votes a week ago, boosted Coach Ben Howlett’s Hilltoppers (9-1) up one spot to No. 9 in this week’s rankings.
It’s the 156th time that the Black and Gold have been ranked among the nation’s Top 10 over the past dozen seasons and the 192nd Top 25 appearance for the WLU program.
The top eight teams remained unchanged from a week ago. Lubbock Christian (9-0) was voted No. 1 for the fourth consecutive week with 13 of the 16 first-place votes with defending national champion Northwest Missouri State (9-1) locked in at No. 2 with the three remaining first-place votes.
Mercyhurst, Pa. (8-0), West Texas A&M (10-1) and Nova Southeastern, Fla. (7-0) once again rounded out the top five, followed by Indiana, Pa. (7-0), Chico State, Calif. (8-0) and Augusta, Ga. (8-0). Last week’s No. 8 team, Queens, N.C. (8-2), suffered its second loss of the season and dropped all the way to No. 22, making room for West Liberty and Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. (8-1) to move up a spot this week.
The only other Mountain East Conference team receiving votes, Fairmont State (7-2), rose from No. 17 to No. 14 this week but will likely drop back down again next week after falling victim to Glenville State in overtime on Monday afternoon. The weekly NABC polls are based on games played through Sunday.
The Hilltoppers closed out their pre-holiday MEC slate on Monday with a gritty 86-84 victory on the road at upset-minded West Virginia State. West Liberty wraps up its December schedule on Sunday with a non-conference test against Wilmington (Del.). Tipoff is set for 3 p.m. inside the ASRC.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
NCAA Division II Top 25
(Dec. 14, 2021)
Team (FPV) Rec Pts Pvs
1. Lubbock Christian, Texas (13) 9-0 396 1
2. NW Missouri State (3) 9-1 384 2
3. Mercyhurst, Pa. 8-0 361 3
4. West Texas A&M 10-1 341 4
5. Nova Southeastern, Fla. 7-0 333 5
6. Indiana, Pa. 7-0 327 6
7. Chico State, Calif. 8-0 307 7
8. Augusta, Ga. 8-0 291 8
9. WEST LIBERTY 8-1 267 10
10. Lincoln Memorial, Tenn. 8-1 244 11
11. Embry-Riddle, Fla. 10-1 211 16
12. Cal State-San Bernardino 8-1 207 11
13. Hillsdale, Mich. 8-1 192 15
14. FAIRMONT STATE 7-1 152 17
15. Cal State-San Marcos 9-0 151 23
16. Ferris State, Mich. 9-1 148 20
17. Minnesota-Duluth 11-0 132 22
18. Dominican, N.Y. 9-1 109 14
19. Barry, Fla. 8-1 104 12
20. Truman State, Mo. 7-2 85 19
21. Queens, N.C. 8-2 84 9
22. Grand Valley State, Mich. 8-1 78 24
23. Augustana, S.D. 10-1 59 NR
24. Upper Iowa 9-1 44 NR
25. Union, Tenn. 9-1 39 21
Others receiving votes: Fort Hays State (Kan.) 37, Georgia College 20, Regis (Colo.) 17, Emmanuel (Ga.) 12, Texas-Tyler 12, Angelo State (Texas) 11, Flagler (Fla.) 11, UNC Pembroke 9, Columbus State (Ga.) 6, Stonehill (Mass.) 6, West Florida 5, Texas A&M International 4, Southwest Baptist (Mo.) 2, Texas A&M-Commerce 1, Wingate (N.C.) 1